Offshore Residential Towers Dubai, UAE by Hopkins Architects

The towers are a proposal for a more sustainable approach to high-rise architecture in a rapidly developing Middle East, which reduces the reliance on oil and minimises energy use, while providing the luxurious standards associated with residential projects.
The design responds to the client’s brief with a group of three residential towers, located offshore, approached across a causeway. Shading is achieved by the use of ‘scales’ to the outside surface. There will allow wide views from the living areas to the land and seascape, without the use of tinted glass. The scales can also create windbreaks so that windows can be opened and terraces used at high levels.

The towers, which range from 35 to 65 stories high, have been designed as a “tripod” with each tower supporting the next one. This creates an efficient and simple triangulated structure, with an elegant vertical form. The tops of the towers will have a wind turbine to power pumps taking cool water from the seabed. This energy will cool the exposed mass of the building. During the winter months, apartments will be naturally ventilated and during the summer months they will have significantly reduced cooling loads.